WEBVTT 00:08.425 --> 00:11.758 (blaring trumpet music) 00:12.812 --> 00:15.562 (dramatic music) 00:31.670 --> 00:33.570 - Everyone knows the Pentagon. 00:33.570 --> 00:36.000 Over the years it's become an international symbol 00:36.000 --> 00:37.730 and an American icon. 00:37.730 --> 00:39.650 But that's almost an accident. 00:39.650 --> 00:42.200 It was built in a rush to meet a looming crisis. 00:42.200 --> 00:44.980 It's shape was determined by circumstance. 00:44.980 --> 00:47.560 It was supposed to be a temporary headquarters 00:47.560 --> 00:48.393 for the Army. 00:49.744 --> 00:52.161 (explosions) 00:53.540 --> 00:56.750 Early 1941, Hitler's stormtroopers had 00:56.750 --> 01:00.550 already overrun Eastern Europe and invaded Russia. 01:00.550 --> 01:02.990 Japans' armies were pushing even further 01:02.990 --> 01:05.040 into the Asian mainland. 01:05.040 --> 01:07.680 Despite strong domestic opposition, 01:07.680 --> 01:10.510 U.S. military leaders were already gearing up 01:10.510 --> 01:13.863 for America's anticipated entry into the war. 01:16.110 --> 01:19.260 Army offices were scattered through 17 buildings 01:19.260 --> 01:21.030 in Washington, D.C. 01:21.030 --> 01:24.270 To disguise the increasing military presence, 01:24.270 --> 01:28.600 officers and NCOs reported to work in civilian clothes. 01:28.600 --> 01:31.700 That included General Brehon Burke Somervell, 01:31.700 --> 01:33.650 head of Army construction. 01:33.650 --> 01:36.600 His solution to the Army's space problem, 01:36.600 --> 01:39.140 build the biggest office building in the world 01:39.140 --> 01:41.403 across the Potomac River in Virginia. 01:42.830 --> 01:45.140 - He brought his staff together this Thursday night 01:45.140 --> 01:49.457 in July, 1941 and just gave them these instructions. 01:49.457 --> 01:53.597 "I want a building big enough to house 40,000 people, 01:53.597 --> 01:56.407 "with parking for 10,000 cars, 01:56.407 --> 01:58.557 "four million square feet. 01:58.557 --> 02:01.997 "And I want the plans on my desk Monday morning." 02:03.240 --> 02:06.180 - The original plan for the Pentagon was drawn up 02:06.180 --> 02:08.110 over a long weekend. 02:08.110 --> 02:12.040 The original site was bounded by roads 02:12.040 --> 02:16.020 that required that the building to be 02:16.020 --> 02:19.640 within those roads would be a pentagon, 02:19.640 --> 02:21.860 but rather irregular one. 02:21.860 --> 02:24.180 - [Daniela] That original site was on farm land 02:24.180 --> 02:27.270 along Memorial Drive, the road that still leads 02:27.270 --> 02:29.850 into Arlington National Cemetery. 02:29.850 --> 02:31.810 But there was controversy. 02:31.810 --> 02:34.740 Critics loudly complained the huge new building 02:34.740 --> 02:37.770 would mar the view from the tomb of Pierre L'Enfant, 02:37.770 --> 02:40.550 designer of the layout of Washington. 02:40.550 --> 02:43.910 President Roosevelt picked a new site in a marshy area 02:43.910 --> 02:46.560 about a half mile downriver. 02:46.560 --> 02:49.450 Former Second Lieutenant Bob Furaman saw the area 02:49.450 --> 02:51.643 before a shovel of earth was turned. 02:52.677 --> 02:56.633 - In back of where I'm standing was a development of homes. 02:58.730 --> 03:00.890 In back of the Pentagon on the south side 03:00.890 --> 03:04.524 was a big brickyard, many, many acres in here 03:04.524 --> 03:06.440 of experimental agricultural work, 03:06.440 --> 03:09.100 and a railroad ran right through the middle of it. 03:09.100 --> 03:10.770 - [Daniela] The location may have changed, 03:10.770 --> 03:13.300 but the design concept didn't. 03:13.300 --> 03:16.010 - They were moving so quickly with the project 03:16.010 --> 03:19.380 that the architects just decided shape. 03:19.380 --> 03:21.700 The new site down here wasn't five sided, 03:21.700 --> 03:24.470 but there really wasn't time to change it. 03:24.470 --> 03:25.710 - [Daniela] General Somervell, 03:25.710 --> 03:28.650 nicknamed Dynamite in a Tiffany Box, 03:28.650 --> 03:31.000 helped push quick congressional approval 03:31.000 --> 03:34.930 of the new War Department Building, as it was first called. 03:34.930 --> 03:38.800 - He didn't tolerate anything which didn't 03:38.800 --> 03:40.543 get the job done immediately. 03:42.260 --> 03:45.930 - [Daniela] Ground was broken on September 11, 1941, 03:45.930 --> 03:49.090 just seven weeks since the idea of the building 03:49.090 --> 03:51.030 was first proposed. 03:51.030 --> 03:53.640 That night, President Roosevelt went on the radio 03:53.640 --> 03:55.643 to warn of the threat from German. 03:56.510 --> 04:01.140 - [Roosevelt] When you see a rattlesnake poised to strike, 04:01.140 --> 04:05.240 you do not wait until he has struck 04:05.240 --> 04:07.313 before you crush it. 04:08.580 --> 04:10.350 - [Daniela] The goal was to begin moving people 04:10.350 --> 04:13.291 into the building within six months. 04:13.291 --> 04:15.460 (dramatic music) 04:15.460 --> 04:18.240 Less than three months after ground breaking, 04:18.240 --> 04:22.715 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on a Sunday morning. 04:22.715 --> 04:26.783 - [Roosevelt] December 7th, 1941, 04:28.730 --> 04:33.280 a date which will live in infamy. 04:33.280 --> 04:36.470 - We knew that the world had changed. 04:36.470 --> 04:38.060 - [Daniela] Helen McShane Bailey, 04:38.060 --> 04:39.740 she was Helen McShane then, 04:39.740 --> 04:42.200 was one of thousands of young women moving 04:42.200 --> 04:45.090 to Washington to take federal jobs. 04:45.090 --> 04:48.360 She still recalls the drastic change she saw 04:48.360 --> 04:50.440 at her office in the War Department 04:50.440 --> 04:53.700 when she went to work the day after the attack. 04:53.700 --> 04:57.000 - I walked up to my office, and as I'm coming in, 04:57.000 --> 05:00.730 I'm seeing all these men who used to wear civilian clothes 05:00.730 --> 05:04.740 are now in Army uniforms with their rank insignia 05:04.740 --> 05:07.480 on their shoulders, and I was in shock. 05:07.480 --> 05:09.480 And they were in shock. 05:09.480 --> 05:11.820 - Pearl Harbor changed everything. 05:11.820 --> 05:13.810 All restrictions were off. 05:13.810 --> 05:18.810 Money roll and construction efforts speeded up tremendously. 05:19.110 --> 05:23.700 At the peak there were about 15,000 people working 05:23.700 --> 05:25.350 on the building around the clock. 05:27.420 --> 05:29.940 - [Daniela] Construction workers flocked to Washington 05:29.940 --> 05:31.950 from across the country. 05:31.950 --> 05:34.010 The building was to be four floors 05:34.010 --> 05:38.230 and made of reinforced concrete with no steel beams. 05:38.230 --> 05:41.660 More than 41,000 90-foot pilings were driven 05:41.660 --> 05:44.043 into the ground to support the structure. 05:45.100 --> 05:48.170 Five and a half million cubic yards of sand and dirt 05:48.170 --> 05:51.130 were pumped from the river to raise the building level 05:51.130 --> 05:53.070 above the floodplain. 05:53.070 --> 05:56.780 The Pentagon went up in sections, later called wedges. 05:56.780 --> 06:00.930 As one wedge was nearing completion, another was started. 06:00.930 --> 06:03.550 Hundreds of draftsmen were working all hours 06:03.550 --> 06:07.240 in an old airplane hangar cranking out design plans 06:07.240 --> 06:10.520 for the building as it was being built. 06:10.520 --> 06:12.730 - They were working so fast they were getting 06:12.730 --> 06:15.807 ahead of the plans. 06:15.807 --> 06:18.920 The plans sometimes delivered after they'd 06:18.920 --> 06:21.133 already done some of the work on it. 06:22.010 --> 06:25.040 You do have some irregularities inside. 06:25.040 --> 06:28.320 Years later it was discovered that there some pockets 06:28.320 --> 06:30.770 in the building that were completely sealed off 06:30.770 --> 06:34.240 and nobody knew about, they were there. 06:34.240 --> 06:36.780 - [Daniela] By May 1st of 1942, 06:36.780 --> 06:38.160 six months into construction, 06:38.160 --> 06:40.950 the first wedge was largely finished. 06:40.950 --> 06:43.730 Army personnel began moving in. 06:43.730 --> 06:46.760 - There were stories about cement cave-ins in offices 06:46.760 --> 06:50.327 where people had to jump to get out of the way 06:50.327 --> 06:53.600 of the cement coming down on them. 06:53.600 --> 06:55.330 And, of course, it was muddy all around. 06:55.330 --> 06:57.590 They walked on planks. 06:57.590 --> 07:00.850 - [Daniela] But the building was open and functioning. 07:00.850 --> 07:05.040 Huge office space with up to 400 desks were the norm. 07:05.040 --> 07:07.960 Early in the move-in period it was officially renamed 07:07.960 --> 07:10.990 The Pentagon Building, and a decision was made 07:10.990 --> 07:12.940 to add a fifth floor. 07:12.940 --> 07:15.510 - The papers that Somervell submitted to Congress 07:15.510 --> 07:18.780 described the fifth floor as the fourth floor intermediate. 07:18.780 --> 07:22.750 And it really wasn't until about four or five months 07:22.750 --> 07:25.080 after they were constructing the fifth floor 07:25.080 --> 07:28.290 that people in Congress figured out what was going on. 07:28.290 --> 07:31.020 - [Daniela] The construction-caused chaos had calmed 07:31.020 --> 07:34.070 by the time Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall 07:34.070 --> 07:37.660 moved his office and staff to the building in November. 07:37.660 --> 07:40.230 Helen McShane was on that staff. 07:40.230 --> 07:43.540 - Got to be total routine, get on the bus, 07:43.540 --> 07:46.280 get off the bus, get on the escalator, 07:46.280 --> 07:50.310 get up the ramp, get into the office, 07:50.310 --> 07:51.877 open up the files (laughing), 07:53.000 --> 07:56.160 filing cabinets, get everybody organized, 07:56.160 --> 07:57.860 and the phone would start ringing. 07:59.370 --> 08:01.680 - [Daniela] The plain, bland functional building 08:01.680 --> 08:04.420 turned out to have a distinctive character. 08:04.420 --> 08:07.223 The entrances have simple architectural detail 08:07.223 --> 08:11.280 fronted by unadorned neo-classical columns. 08:11.280 --> 08:14.410 The facing of the building is Indiana limestone, 08:14.410 --> 08:18.230 and the Pentagon shape turned out to be hugely efficient. 08:18.230 --> 08:22.440 The final design is five concentric buildings called rings, 08:22.440 --> 08:24.800 with light wells in between. 08:24.800 --> 08:28.010 Corridors on the corners allowed for diagonal routes 08:28.010 --> 08:30.320 from one part of the building to another. 08:30.320 --> 08:33.110 In theory, it should take only seven minutes 08:33.110 --> 08:35.483 to get from one point to any other. 08:36.460 --> 08:39.470 A large network of roadways and overpasses had 08:39.470 --> 08:42.270 to be built to provide access to what was then 08:42.270 --> 08:44.720 an isolated location. 08:44.720 --> 08:46.390 - It really was a small city. 08:46.390 --> 08:48.430 - [Daniela] And there had to be services. 08:48.430 --> 08:51.760 Post office, banks, shops, cafeterias, 08:51.760 --> 08:55.150 services which can still be found in the building. 08:55.150 --> 08:57.470 - You absolutely had to have them because there was no way 08:57.470 --> 09:00.700 you could have that many people get in their cars 09:00.700 --> 09:01.980 and drive anywhere. 09:01.980 --> 09:05.963 It would take them longer than any lunch hour. 09:07.230 --> 09:09.040 - [Daniela] At its World War II peak, 09:09.040 --> 09:12.200 well over 30,000 people worked in the building. 09:12.200 --> 09:17.140 Construction was declared completed on January 15, 1943. 09:17.140 --> 09:20.040 The total cost, including building, roadways 09:20.040 --> 09:22.603 and landscaping, $85 million. 09:23.670 --> 09:27.030 From the beginning, the Pentagon has generated stories. 09:27.030 --> 09:29.853 A few are fact, more are fiction. 09:30.695 --> 09:31.660 - One of the favorites. 09:31.660 --> 09:34.220 - Western Union telegraph boy who entered the building 09:34.220 --> 09:36.110 - On a Friday and emerged on a Monday 09:36.110 --> 09:37.473 as a Lieutenant Colonel. 09:39.450 --> 09:41.590 - [Daniela] FDR had plans to convert the Pentagon 09:41.590 --> 09:45.180 into an archive after the post-war demobilization. 09:45.180 --> 09:48.390 There was also talk of turning it into a hospital. 09:48.390 --> 09:51.770 But in 1947, with the Cold War simmering, 09:51.770 --> 09:54.000 the Department of Defense was created. 09:54.000 --> 09:56.690 President Truman wanted to create more unity 09:56.690 --> 09:58.490 among the services. 09:58.490 --> 10:01.220 - So he ordered James Forrestal, who was the first 10:01.220 --> 10:03.890 Secretary of Defense, to put his headquarters 10:03.890 --> 10:06.330 in this buildings and, in a sense, 10:06.330 --> 10:08.780 having such a large building ready 10:08.780 --> 10:12.180 to house this new massive military establishment 10:12.180 --> 10:13.263 was pretty fortunate. 10:14.240 --> 10:16.410 - [Daniela] Over the course of the Cold War years 10:16.410 --> 10:19.660 from the late 1940's to the late 1980's, 10:19.660 --> 10:23.280 the Pentagon became a true international symbol. 10:23.280 --> 10:25.960 Decisions about all the great crises of the day 10:25.960 --> 10:27.440 were made here. 10:27.440 --> 10:29.830 The building itself became a focal point 10:29.830 --> 10:33.960 during one of the large anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. 10:33.960 --> 10:37.670 - [Steve V.] The site of the big 1967 march on the Pentagon. 10:37.670 --> 10:39.450 - [Announcer] Military police contain the crowd, 10:39.450 --> 10:41.440 but clashes soon break out. 10:41.440 --> 10:43.520 Federal Marshalls arrest several who attempt 10:43.520 --> 10:45.570 to break through the protective line. 10:45.570 --> 10:48.360 Reinforcing the Marshalls, a second wave of MPs 10:48.360 --> 10:51.340 with fixed bayonets and scabbards move into position. 10:51.340 --> 10:53.490 Some 400 demonstrators are arrested, 10:53.490 --> 10:55.863 two soldiers are injured and tear gas is used. 10:56.700 --> 10:59.290 - [Daniela] A small group of demonstrators shoved their way 10:59.290 --> 11:01.650 into the lobby, but were quickly forced out 11:01.650 --> 11:04.910 by a contingent of the 101st Airborne. 11:04.910 --> 11:06.690 - Fortunately, no one was killed, 11:06.690 --> 11:08.100 but the troops who were defending the building 11:08.100 --> 11:10.622 were subjected to a lot of vile treatment 11:10.622 --> 11:13.590 from the protesters, and the protesters themselves, 11:13.590 --> 11:17.333 some of them were beaten and suffered injuries. 11:17.333 --> 11:19.790 (psychedelic music) 11:19.790 --> 11:21.510 - [Daniela] In the 70's and 80's, 11:21.510 --> 11:23.750 building systems deteriorated. 11:23.750 --> 11:25.010 The roof leaked. 11:25.010 --> 11:28.760 Steve Carter came to the maintenance department in 1984 11:28.760 --> 11:31.840 and worked his way up to supervisory positions. 11:31.840 --> 11:35.420 Soon he knew the building intimately and developed a tour 11:35.420 --> 11:38.870 to demonstrate the need for serious renovation. 11:38.870 --> 11:40.730 - The infamous armpit tour. 11:40.730 --> 11:43.170 Most people do not show their bosses 11:43.170 --> 11:45.470 and their bosses' bosses and members of the halls 11:45.470 --> 11:48.260 of Congress the worst areas of the building. 11:48.260 --> 11:50.430 Sewer lines that you could take a ball point pen 11:50.430 --> 11:53.070 and tap a hole into, slabs of concrete 11:53.070 --> 11:54.860 that looked like you were walking down a ramp, 11:54.860 --> 11:57.770 but it was actually where the ground had heaved up. 11:57.770 --> 11:59.370 - [Daniela] After years of wrangling, 11:59.370 --> 12:03.470 Congress finally approved renovation in 1991. 12:03.470 --> 12:07.820 Work began on Wedge One, the oldest section of the building. 12:07.820 --> 12:10.920 It had to be gutted and rebuilt on the inside, 12:10.920 --> 12:14.235 but the structure itself was still sound. 12:14.235 --> 12:17.140 (upbeat music) 12:17.140 --> 12:21.480 By September 10, 2001, renovation work was wrapping up 12:21.480 --> 12:24.980 on Wedge One, final inspections were underway, 12:24.980 --> 12:28.623 and tenants were moving back into their assigned offices. 12:31.503 --> 12:34.253 (dramatic music) 12:38.374 --> 12:41.124 (dramatic music) 12:49.410 --> 12:52.640 - [Daniela] For the people who went to work that day 12:52.640 --> 12:57.640 in the Pentagon, September 11, 2001 started like any other. 12:59.440 --> 13:04.233 That quickly changed, and it became a day like no other. 13:05.179 --> 13:06.447 - [Man] Everybody please start walking 13:06.447 --> 13:07.780 towards the east side. 13:07.780 --> 13:11.050 - [Daniela] First came the shock shared by all Americans, 13:11.050 --> 13:15.410 as news of a plane striking one of the Twin Towers spread. 13:15.410 --> 13:17.940 Steve Carter, then the Pentagon's assistant 13:17.940 --> 13:20.940 building manager, was among the millions glued 13:20.940 --> 13:23.520 to the nearest television for the latest news 13:23.520 --> 13:25.260 out of New York. 13:25.260 --> 13:27.760 - I was in the Building Operations Command Center 13:27.760 --> 13:30.920 and we had put it up on the big 90-inch screens. 13:30.920 --> 13:32.070 While we were watching this, 13:32.070 --> 13:34.263 we watched the second plane come in. 13:35.420 --> 13:37.980 We realized at that time that we were most likely dealing 13:37.980 --> 13:42.370 with a terrorist event, and about 20 minutes later 13:42.370 --> 13:45.430 I felt my knees buckle and all of a sudden 13:45.430 --> 13:48.610 all the fire alarm systems starting reporting in alarms, 13:48.610 --> 13:50.560 and by what I was looking at, it looked like 13:50.560 --> 13:53.080 over 400,000 square feet of building 13:53.080 --> 13:54.493 just erupted in flames. 14:01.260 --> 14:03.840 - [Daniela] Even as Steve Carter and his crews rushed 14:03.840 --> 14:07.230 to respond while still unsure of the cause, 14:07.230 --> 14:10.250 a group of senior military officers at the nearby 14:10.250 --> 14:12.690 Army-Navy Country Club for a meeting 14:12.690 --> 14:14.930 were witness to the truth. 14:14.930 --> 14:18.133 - We heard a whoosh, that something went overhead. 14:19.100 --> 14:22.220 And two gentlemen came in from the golf course 14:22.220 --> 14:25.050 and said it looked like a American Airlines airplane 14:25.050 --> 14:27.800 just flew overhead and went down the hill 14:27.800 --> 14:30.659 and struck the Pentagon, which is on fire. 14:30.659 --> 14:34.826 (emergency sirens and dispatches) 14:37.360 --> 14:40.050 - [Daniela] The attack was a shock on may levels 14:40.050 --> 14:43.020 for Admiral John Cotton, a reservist who, 14:43.020 --> 14:47.240 as a civilian, is a pilot for American Airlines. 14:47.240 --> 14:50.070 Also, upon seeing the site of impact, he feared 14:50.070 --> 14:53.460 for the safety of his military friends and co-workers. 14:53.460 --> 14:55.480 - Six of us went up to the roof of the Army-Navy 14:55.480 --> 14:57.660 Country Club right on the hillside here 14:57.660 --> 14:59.910 and looked at the burning Pentagon. 14:59.910 --> 15:03.640 And I'm thinking to myself, American Airlines, friends, 15:03.640 --> 15:06.340 it hit our office at the Pentagon, so what's going on? 15:07.180 --> 15:09.520 - [Daniela] Meanwhile, back inside the Pentagon, 15:09.520 --> 15:13.240 Steve Carter was in the midst of the chaotic aftermath 15:13.240 --> 15:14.950 of the attack. 15:14.950 --> 15:16.960 - A lot of heroics that day. 15:16.960 --> 15:18.960 A lot of people reaching out to people. 15:18.960 --> 15:21.101 I don't think anyone was strangers that day. 15:21.101 --> 15:23.520 I think anybody that was here was in our own little world 15:23.520 --> 15:26.020 and it was just a matter of survival at that time. 15:28.320 --> 15:31.440 - [Daniela] The fires smoldered for four days, 15:31.440 --> 15:35.420 and then it was time to sort out the consequences. 15:35.420 --> 15:38.420 Among the victims who lost their lives that day 15:38.420 --> 15:40.640 were the 59 passengers and crew 15:40.640 --> 15:43.570 of American Airlines flight 77 15:43.570 --> 15:47.460 and 125 men and women in the Pentagon. 15:47.460 --> 15:50.670 And, as he'd feared, Admiral John Cotton learned 15:50.670 --> 15:54.515 he'd lost many close friends and co-workers. 15:54.515 --> 15:55.720 - I think we all did. 15:55.720 --> 15:58.520 If you look at where the airplane hit, 15:58.520 --> 16:01.570 here by the fourth, bounced into the second deck 16:01.570 --> 16:05.680 and hit the Army section, and then deflected 16:05.680 --> 16:08.380 to the first floor again into the Navy Command Center. 16:09.320 --> 16:11.720 So many funerals afterwards. 16:11.720 --> 16:13.170 And those were gut wrenching. 16:14.260 --> 16:16.260 The pilot was a good friend of mine, 16:16.260 --> 16:18.510 a former flight instruction, Chic Burlingame 16:18.510 --> 16:20.850 and he's buried at Arlington Cemetery now. 16:20.850 --> 16:23.630 And ironically, he used to work in this office 16:23.630 --> 16:25.340 as a Navy reservist. 16:25.340 --> 16:28.070 And then in the back of the airplane was my flag mentor, 16:28.070 --> 16:30.290 the guy that helped me make Admiral in the Navy, 16:30.290 --> 16:32.800 a retired American Airlines captain, Bud Flagg, 16:32.800 --> 16:34.620 and his lovely wife Dee. 16:34.620 --> 16:37.200 They had known each other since high school 16:37.200 --> 16:39.660 and he was going to visit friends and relatives 16:39.660 --> 16:42.310 and was just on the wrong airplane at the wrong time. 16:43.740 --> 16:45.920 - [Daniela] Even as people struggled to cope 16:45.920 --> 16:48.280 with the loss of friends and family, 16:48.280 --> 16:51.150 work crews began sifting through the rubble, 16:51.150 --> 16:53.220 trying to determine what it would take 16:53.220 --> 16:55.740 to rebuild the damaged wedge, 16:55.740 --> 16:59.880 which ironically was undergoing renovation before the attack 16:59.880 --> 17:02.730 and was only five days away from completion. 17:02.730 --> 17:07.310 - The first six weeks or so were really very busy, 17:07.310 --> 17:09.440 very blurred for all of us. 17:09.440 --> 17:12.140 Then we got into making the decision 17:12.140 --> 17:15.040 that we could drop that area where the plane hit 17:15.040 --> 17:18.510 and re-pour it faster than we could 17:18.510 --> 17:21.490 doing little pieces of trying to patch it. 17:21.490 --> 17:24.030 Then it went around the clock to prove to everybody 17:24.030 --> 17:25.580 we could get it done in a year. 17:28.052 --> 17:31.410 - [Daniela] 50,000 tons of debris first had to be removed 17:31.410 --> 17:35.533 from the site, then the rush was on to rebuild. 17:36.690 --> 17:40.360 - That was similar to, I would think, 17:40.360 --> 17:42.804 what happened when we originally built the building itself 17:42.804 --> 17:47.090 where we had to do the design, planning, 17:47.090 --> 17:50.010 and the building, the actual implementation, 17:50.010 --> 17:51.273 almost at the same time. 17:52.381 --> 17:53.214 (whirring saw) 17:53.214 --> 17:55.270 - [Daniela] Luckily, there were about a thousand 17:55.270 --> 17:58.530 highly-motivated workers on site each day 17:58.530 --> 18:00.010 to make that possible. 18:00.010 --> 18:02.470 - They had workers refusing to take days off, 18:02.470 --> 18:04.300 coming early, leaving late. 18:04.300 --> 18:08.030 You had union workers helping non-union workers, 18:08.030 --> 18:11.490 things you didn't normally see at a construction project. 18:11.490 --> 18:14.620 - [Daniela] It took nearly three million man hours, 18:14.620 --> 18:17.450 but working together, the construction crews did 18:17.450 --> 18:20.979 what many thought impossible, and only one year 18:20.979 --> 18:25.313 after the 9/11 attack, the Pentagon once again stood whole. 18:26.460 --> 18:29.590 - I'd never seen crews work so fast 18:29.590 --> 18:32.190 as these people did of all nationalities. 18:32.190 --> 18:34.750 - And that only happened through people who had all 18:34.750 --> 18:38.320 got that spirit that we were only bruised, 18:38.320 --> 18:40.600 we're gonna come back better than ever. 18:40.600 --> 18:42.780 You didn't slow us down. 18:42.780 --> 18:44.927 (cheering and applause) 18:44.927 --> 18:47.930 - In a sense, we meet on a battlefield. 18:47.930 --> 18:50.130 If it does not appear so today, 18:50.130 --> 18:52.890 that is because of the singular devotion 18:52.890 --> 18:55.610 of the men and women who worked day and night 18:55.610 --> 18:59.170 to fulfill a solemn vow, that not one stone 18:59.170 --> 19:02.908 of this building would be out of place on this anniversary. 19:02.908 --> 19:05.158 (applause) 19:06.610 --> 19:08.360 - [Daniela] Admiral Cotton and the Navy Reserve 19:08.360 --> 19:11.280 Pentagon staff were among the first to move back 19:11.280 --> 19:13.720 into the rebuilt wedge of the building 19:13.720 --> 19:17.350 to a fourth floor office with a view of the attack site. 19:17.350 --> 19:19.000 - This electrical box right here? 19:19.860 --> 19:21.790 This is where they landed. 19:21.790 --> 19:24.110 That's where the airplane touched down, 19:24.110 --> 19:26.763 and then came in underneath your feet right here. 19:27.820 --> 19:30.050 I often stare out here at these windows 19:30.050 --> 19:33.630 and look at the Pentagon Memorial as it takes shape. 19:33.630 --> 19:38.080 And all the benches are lined up on the flight path. 19:38.080 --> 19:39.890 - [Daniela] Admiral Cotton says the view 19:39.890 --> 19:43.590 is a daily reminder of those lost on 9/11 19:43.590 --> 19:46.370 and the importance of doing all we can as a country 19:46.370 --> 19:49.560 to keep such a thing from happening again. 19:49.560 --> 19:53.070 - My good friend Bud Flagg, who was a great warrior, 19:53.070 --> 19:56.370 I know exactly what he would want us to do, 19:56.370 --> 19:58.140 which is what we're doing now, 19:58.140 --> 19:59.800 which is going after these people 19:59.800 --> 20:02.300 and making sure it never happens again. 20:02.300 --> 20:04.010 So those are the kinds of things I think about 20:04.010 --> 20:06.620 looking out that window and making the most of today, 20:06.620 --> 20:09.400 maybe giving back, educating others, 20:09.400 --> 20:11.100 and then live life to the fullest. 20:13.330 --> 20:14.850 - [Daniela] As for the Pentagon, 20:14.850 --> 20:17.180 there are no longer any visible scars 20:17.180 --> 20:20.910 from September 11, 2001, but that tragic event 20:20.910 --> 20:23.780 has become an important part of her history. 20:23.780 --> 20:26.290 So have the amazing efforts of the thousands 20:26.290 --> 20:29.180 of men and women who joined together in the days 20:29.180 --> 20:31.880 and years since to make the Pentagon better 20:31.880 --> 20:33.453 and stronger than ever. 20:35.991 --> 20:38.741 (dramatic music) 20:45.249 --> 20:47.999 (dramatic music) 20:49.070 --> 20:52.417 (inspirational music) 20:52.417 --> 20:54.240 - [Daniela] For the two and a half million men 20:54.240 --> 20:57.690 and women who are part of the U.S. Defense Department, 20:57.690 --> 21:00.220 most of the decisions that determine the course 21:00.220 --> 21:03.699 of their lives happen here, in what is the largest 21:03.699 --> 21:07.130 low-rise office building in the world. 21:07.130 --> 21:09.220 While that alone sounds impressive, 21:09.220 --> 21:11.960 it's the details of the building that bring home 21:11.960 --> 21:14.910 just how big it really is. 21:14.910 --> 21:18.410 For example, the building takes up 29 acres, 21:18.410 --> 21:23.410 and it costs around $29 million to power it each year. 21:23.530 --> 21:26.270 There are 17 and 1/2 miles of corridors, 21:26.270 --> 21:30.830 nearly 8,000 windows, and a huge center courtyard. 21:30.830 --> 21:33.687 - This whole area is about five and a half acres big, 21:33.687 --> 21:35.870 and it is currently the largest no-hat, 21:35.870 --> 21:39.120 no-salute zone within the continental United States. 21:39.120 --> 21:41.710 - [Daniela] It's also the only military installation 21:41.710 --> 21:44.170 not owned by one of the services. 21:44.170 --> 21:46.560 By law, the Pentagon falls under the authority 21:46.560 --> 21:48.800 of the Secretary of Defense. 21:48.800 --> 21:52.930 Michael Donley is the man chosen to see it runs right. 21:52.930 --> 21:56.160 - The Pentagon operates in many ways like an island 21:56.160 --> 21:58.000 in Northern Virginia. 21:58.000 --> 22:00.750 It is a huge building and it makes a huge footprint 22:00.750 --> 22:02.770 in Northern Virginia. 22:02.770 --> 22:06.190 But because it is federal property and is surrounded 22:06.190 --> 22:10.430 by parking lots, major thoroughfares. 22:10.430 --> 22:14.260 - [Daniela] It takes time to get in and out of the Pentagon. 22:14.260 --> 22:17.799 For that reason, the building has always had a variety of 22:17.799 --> 22:19.913 within its walls. 22:20.750 --> 22:21.910 - [Man] Now, this whole area, 22:21.910 --> 22:24.220 what does it look like, you guys? 22:24.220 --> 22:25.053 - [Child] Like a mall. 22:25.053 --> 22:26.350 - There you go, like a mall, right? 22:26.350 --> 22:28.620 Again, this was developed so our Pentagon personnel, 22:28.620 --> 22:30.870 such as myself, wouldn't have to leave the building 22:30.870 --> 22:33.110 to take care of personal business during the work day. 22:33.110 --> 22:35.550 So that's why we have medical and dental facilities, 22:35.550 --> 22:38.310 post office, banks, credit unions, DMVs, 22:38.310 --> 22:42.080 barber shops, and we even have floral shops in here, okay? 22:42.080 --> 22:43.660 So whatever you might need, you can get it 22:43.660 --> 22:45.150 right here in the Pentagon. 22:45.150 --> 22:47.580 - They other a major feature here 22:47.580 --> 22:51.140 in this island environment is the Metro station 22:51.140 --> 22:53.450 and the bus platforms constitute the largest 22:53.450 --> 22:56.570 transportation center in Northern Virginia. 22:56.570 --> 22:59.440 So we're constantly balancing security 22:59.440 --> 23:01.493 and access to the Pentagon. 23:03.290 --> 23:05.990 - [Daniela] The building is so large it takes time 23:05.990 --> 23:07.970 to learn your way around. 23:07.970 --> 23:10.430 - You will see people walking down a hallway 23:10.430 --> 23:13.430 and then all of a sudden turn around and do a 180, 23:13.430 --> 23:17.190 go another 50 or 100 meters and then stop again 23:17.190 --> 23:20.520 and look at a piece of paper and try to figure out 23:20.520 --> 23:22.800 where they are and where they need to go. 23:22.800 --> 23:24.179 - Alright, you guys, come on 23:24.179 --> 23:25.269 and please follow me this way. 23:25.269 --> 23:26.102 This time we're going down the stairs. 23:26.102 --> 23:28.120 Everybody please follow me this way. 23:28.120 --> 23:30.050 - [Daniela] Lance Corporal Angel Cuevas is one 23:30.050 --> 23:32.510 of the Pentagon's many tour guides. 23:32.510 --> 23:35.300 He's a pro at getting around, now. 23:35.300 --> 23:38.090 - The first time I was here I was lost for about an hour. 23:38.090 --> 23:40.470 And I was just walking around with the map and I was like, 23:40.470 --> 23:42.030 (sighs) you know, and then finally I saw 23:42.030 --> 23:43.710 another Marine, I was like, "Hey, Marine, help me out." 23:43.710 --> 23:44.547 He was like, "Alright, double dog. 23:44.547 --> 23:46.078 "What you wanna do is you wanna go that way, 23:46.078 --> 23:46.943 "you wanna go this way, and this is 23:46.943 --> 23:48.440 "how the Pentagon's set up." 23:48.440 --> 23:50.160 So he basically gave me the rundown. 23:50.160 --> 23:51.360 But yeah, it's kinda hard for someone 23:51.360 --> 23:52.730 that's never, ever been here before. 23:52.730 --> 23:55.970 - Once you understand how the Pentagon is laid out, 23:55.970 --> 23:58.400 it's very easy to get around, and it's designed 23:58.400 --> 24:00.050 in a very efficient way to allow you 24:00.050 --> 24:02.960 to get to all parts of the building very quickly. 24:02.960 --> 24:04.120 - [Daniela] Getting around the building 24:04.120 --> 24:07.290 really is straightforward, usually. 24:07.290 --> 24:11.170 But since renovation of the building began in 1998, 24:11.170 --> 24:13.690 those in the area under construction have had 24:13.690 --> 24:15.640 to move to other locations, 24:15.640 --> 24:18.540 both in and outside of the building. 24:18.540 --> 24:21.230 And people have often had to take longer routes 24:21.230 --> 24:23.400 to their usual destinations because 24:23.400 --> 24:25.360 of construction detours. 24:25.360 --> 24:28.540 - And it's been admittedly a significant inconvenience 24:28.540 --> 24:31.980 for the work force, but I think they understand 24:31.980 --> 24:33.297 the benefits of the renovation 24:33.297 --> 24:35.963 and what they're getting from it in the end. 24:37.550 --> 24:39.500 - [Daniela] What they're getting is better safety 24:39.500 --> 24:42.420 and security features, as well as modern upgrades 24:42.420 --> 24:45.720 to work areas and much-needed amenities. 24:45.720 --> 24:48.100 Work on three of the building's five wedges 24:48.100 --> 24:49.630 is nearly finished. 24:49.630 --> 24:53.540 Renovation of the fourth is now in full swing. 24:53.540 --> 24:55.600 - We're doing a million square feet in 24:55.600 --> 24:56.880 about a year and a half. 24:56.880 --> 24:59.080 We've got over 700 trades people 24:59.080 --> 25:00.763 on this construction site. 25:02.120 --> 25:04.230 So just organizing all of that, 25:04.230 --> 25:06.560 that all becomes very intense. 25:06.560 --> 25:09.247 - And we are putting in the infrastructure in 25:09.247 --> 25:12.210 for the future, so any changes in the future, 25:12.210 --> 25:15.100 any of the new requirements coming in, 25:15.100 --> 25:17.360 we should be able to support that. 25:17.360 --> 25:19.830 - [Daniela] After more than a decade of lessons learned 25:19.830 --> 25:22.420 during these renovations, the construction crews 25:22.420 --> 25:24.860 have a clear idea of what it will take 25:24.860 --> 25:29.163 to finishes Wedges Four and Five by 2011. 25:30.161 --> 25:33.729 - We are on schedule to complete this program, 25:33.729 --> 25:36.483 and we are going to make it. 25:38.380 --> 25:40.560 - [Daniela] As for the impact of the renovations 25:40.560 --> 25:43.010 on the amount of space available. 25:43.010 --> 25:46.060 - It's turned out to be, I think, about a wash. 25:46.060 --> 25:48.170 When the renovation was started, 25:48.170 --> 25:50.560 there was anticipation, more anticipation 25:50.560 --> 25:52.430 that we would be losing space. 25:52.430 --> 25:54.780 - [Daniela] But the nearly four million square feet 25:54.780 --> 25:57.150 of office space in the building has been filled 25:57.150 --> 25:59.170 to capacity for years. 25:59.170 --> 26:02.280 For that reason, steps were taken over the last year 26:02.280 --> 26:05.870 to sort out who all the tenants in the building are. 26:05.870 --> 26:08.010 The results of that occupancy study 26:08.010 --> 26:10.550 will help leaders determine who needs to stay 26:10.550 --> 26:13.090 in the Pentagon and who should go. 26:13.090 --> 26:15.680 - It also provided us a clearer picture of how 26:15.680 --> 26:19.780 to get the closure on the renovation and the moves, 26:19.780 --> 26:22.800 so it's been a very important foundational project 26:22.800 --> 26:24.960 for other work that's still ahead of us. 26:24.960 --> 26:29.090 I think the main challenge that we face 26:29.090 --> 26:31.100 in trying to run the building is 26:31.100 --> 26:35.310 to keep the building operations, 26:35.310 --> 26:40.130 the renovation, the security, and the IT functions 26:40.130 --> 26:43.490 of the building all working together in sync. 26:43.490 --> 26:47.020 - [Daniela] And keeping so many people and processes in sync 26:47.020 --> 26:48.610 is no small thing. 26:48.610 --> 26:50.800 The Pentagon's building staff alone, 26:50.800 --> 26:53.840 those with full-time jobs keeping things like air, 26:53.840 --> 26:56.270 heat and water running smoothly, 26:56.270 --> 26:59.530 add up to more than 500 people. 26:59.530 --> 27:02.490 - We enable the people who work here 27:02.490 --> 27:04.450 to support our men and women in the field 27:04.450 --> 27:06.820 and to take care of the nation's business. 27:06.820 --> 27:10.420 So we feel very closely tied to the mission 27:10.420 --> 27:13.760 of the department and to the support of its leadership. 27:13.760 --> 27:16.363 And we're honored to be part of that. 27:17.570 --> 27:19.287 - [Daniela] Steve Carter has been a part 27:19.287 --> 27:23.400 of the building management team for 24 years. 27:23.400 --> 27:26.490 - I may leave the Pentagon physically, 27:26.490 --> 27:28.340 but the Pentagon will never leave me. 27:29.200 --> 27:31.210 It's indelibly marked, and I think it is 27:31.210 --> 27:32.910 in everyone's heart, especially the ones 27:32.910 --> 27:34.650 that were here on 9/11. 27:34.650 --> 27:36.320 We watched what she can go through 27:36.320 --> 27:39.670 and how she can withstand an absolute attack 27:39.670 --> 27:41.720 and yet still be there to support 27:41.720 --> 27:43.220 all the people that needed it. 27:45.230 --> 27:48.560 I may be half a world away, but when you see the Pentagon 27:48.560 --> 27:50.737 come on the nightly news and it says, 27:50.737 --> 27:53.490 "The Pentagon says," everyone here knows 27:53.490 --> 27:55.220 exactly what that means. 27:55.220 --> 27:57.980 We're one of the few buildings in the world that speak. 27:57.980 --> 27:59.130 And she speaks volumes. 28:00.629 --> 28:03.379 (dramatic music) 28:05.850 --> 28:08.460 - From the unprecedented speed of its construction 28:08.460 --> 28:10.700 during the World War II years to the incredible 28:10.700 --> 28:13.990 one year reconstruction after the attack on 9/11 28:13.990 --> 28:15.510 to efforts to bring the building up 28:15.510 --> 28:18.530 to present day standards without slowing down operations, 28:18.530 --> 28:20.850 the Pentagon has become more than a symbol 28:20.850 --> 28:23.120 of the United States military might. 28:23.120 --> 28:25.890 It's also an example of what American determination 28:25.890 --> 28:27.980 and ingenuity can achieve. 28:27.980 --> 28:29.850 I'm Master Sergeant Daniela Marchus, 28:29.850 --> 28:31.243 and this has been Recon. 28:32.260 --> 28:35.010 (dramatic music)